Steam-engine governor



(No Model.) y 2 sheetssheet 2. L. A. LE MIEUX. .STEAM ENGINE. GOVERNOR.

\ Patented Deo. l1, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIUS A. LE MIEUX, OF SEYMOUR, WISCONSIN.

STEAM-ENGINE GOVERNOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 530,538, dated December 11, 1894.

Application filed March 28, 1892. Serial No. 426,758. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUCIUs A. LE MIEUX, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Seymour, in the county of Outagamie, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engine Governors and Reversing Mechanism; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates t"o new and usefulimprovements in steam engine governors, and relates more particularly to a governor for engines employing a rotary valve for controlling the supply of steam to the cylinder and the exhaust of steam therefrom.

The object of my invention is toprovide a governor for steam engines of this class which shall be` automatic in its operation, the ar1` rangement of the governor mechanism being such that by an excessive speed of the engine, it will be operated so as to advance the rotary valve into a position to cause lit to out o steam at an earlier portion of the stroke of the engine so as .to cause the engine to work expansively.

The several features of my invention will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:-Figure 1. is a vertical sectional view of an engine embodying my invention, said section being taken at right angles to the axis of the cylinder. Fig. 2. is a plan view of the governor mechanism. i Eig. 3. is a detail cross section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2, and shows the reversing mechanism. Fig. 4. is a detail elevation of oneof the parts of the governor mechanism. Fig. 5. is a longitudinal vertical section of the device taken on line 5-5 of Fig. l. Fig. 6'. is an enlarged view of a portion of the governor mechanism.

In said drawings :A represents the cylinder, B the piston, and C the piston rod of the engine.

D represents a cylindric steam chest having a steam inlet portD, ports d cl leading to opposite ends of the cylinder A, and an exhaust port E. The steam chest is preferably formed from a cylindric'oasing or shell F in which the ports are formed as illustrated in the drawings, and said casing is conveniently arranged within a cylindric opening in the casting forming the engine frame, but the valve may be arranged to engage directly' with the inner surface of a cylindric chamber formed in said castingand provided with the necessary' ports, the casing or shell being in this case dispensed with, if desired.

Avalve frame Gis revolubly engaged within the cylindric steam chest D as shown in Figs. l and 5, said frame being provided with circular end portions G G of a diameter corresponding with the diameter of the said cylindrie steam chest, and arranged to fit closely within the ends Aof the same. Parallel side pieces or plates G2 G2 are arranged to extend longitudinally between the end portions G G', and betweentnese plates the operating portions of thevalve are secured.

The operatingportion of the. valve comprises two valve plates g g, of substantially T shape, and having their Shanks engaged between the side` pieces of the valve casing or frame, and springs g g are arranged within said frame. in such a manner as to press said platesoutwardly against the walls of the steam chest. i

A spindle I-I extends from one end of the valve frame and passes through a stuffing `box or gland 7p in the end of the cylindric steam chest, and is provided at its outer end with a collar or sleeve H which is made fast to it and provided with oblique or substantially VV shaped slots h in one or more of its sides, as illustrated in Fig. 4. As many of these slots may be employed as may be desired, two being the preferred number.

.portionof said hub, and between these arms are pivotally engaged bell crank arms K K carrying at their extremities, weights 7c lo, and havingth'eir inner ends 7c engaged with suitable links k2 k2. A collar L is movably engaged with the outer surface of the tubularv portion of the hub and is provided with ears IOO Z Z to which the links k2 k2 are pivotally engaged, and is also provided with pins L and L2 projecting inwardly from its inner periphery and engaged with the slotsjj in the outer end of the hub J. One or both of these pins are prolonged sufficiently to engage with the oblique or V shaped slot or slots h in the sleeve H as is illustrated in Figs. l, and 3. The collar L is further provided with a peripheral groove Z, and a lever M is pivotally engaged With the frame of the engine as at m, and is bifurcated at one end and the furcations are arranged to embrace the outside of the said collar and each provided with an inwardly extending pin m', engaging with the groove Z. A handle M is provided atthe other end of the lever M, and a pawl M2 is pivoted to said handle and is arranged to engage with an are N on the engine frame. operating handle m2 is provided on the pawl M2 and is arranged to be grasped by the hand at the same time as the handle M of the lever M, and a shoulder 'n is arranged on the arc N so as to limit the movement of the lever M, by engaging with the pawl M2 in an obvious manner.

The operation of my improved governor mechanism is as follows: The reciprocating motion of the piston with the connected parts communicates a rotary motion to the Wheels I and I, which latter Wheel will rotate the bell crank arms K K which carry the governor balls k 7c. A rotation of said arms will obviously cause the balls at their outer ends to spread apart, (this movement being resisted by a spring K which is connected With said arms,) the ends 7c 7c of the said bell crank arms being thereby oscillated about the pivotal connections with the arms j j', so as to draw the links 7a2 7a2 and the collar L toward the outer end of the spindle H in an obvious manner.

By the engagement of the pin or pins on the collar L with the V shaped slot or slots in the sleeve H', an outward movement of said collar will obviously cause said pin or pins to move outwardly in engagement with the branches of said slots, so as to rotate the sleeve within the tubular portion J of the hub J, thus rotating the spindle H and with it the valve G into a different position relative to the wheel I. This movement of the valve will advance it so as to cut olf steam at an earlier portion of the stroke of the engine, such advancement of the valve being obviouslyin proportion to the spread of the governor balls and rotation of sleeve H. In this manner, the engine will be caused to Work expansively with a corresponding economy of steam.

An increase in the load on the engine will obviously operate to retard the engine and the balls k 7e will approach each other, thereby operating through the medium of the bell crank levers K K to produce an inward movement of the collar L, and moving the valve Anv toward its initial position so as to take steam earlier in the stroke.

When the engine is idle, the spring K will operate to move the outer ends of the bell crank arms K K toward each other and to move the collar L intoa position to bring the pin or pins thereon toward the inner ends of the V shaped slots h', the limit of this inward movement being at a point some distance from the inner ends of said slots, so that when steam is turned on to start the engine, said pin L will move outwardly in the branch of the V shaped slot with which it was previously engaged, and the engine Will run as before. If now, the engineer desires to reverse the engine, he graspsA the lever M by the handle M,compresses the handle of the paWl M2 so as to hold it out of the line of the shouldern on the arc N, and moves said lever so as to carry the collarLoutWardly upon the tubular portion of the hub J, until the pin L is carried out of engagement with the'V shaped slot h', the slots jj being made of sufficient length to permit of this movement of the collar. When the pin is out of engagement with the slot h', the valve will cease to move, and steam will carry the piston to the end of its stroke, at the same time, moving the wheel I and collar L into a position to enable the pin L to engage With the other branch of the slot h. This movement of the parts will obviously serve to change the relative positions of the moving port-ions of the engine and the rotary valve, so as to r'everse the motion of the engine.

In the ordinary operation of the engine', the outward movement of the governor balls kk,

IOC

and the consequent movement of the collarL and lever M, will be limited by the engagement of the pawl M2 with the shoulder n on the arc N, so as to prevent the pin L' from moving out of engagement with the V shaped slot h', while the reverse motion of the said parts will be limited by the stop n on the other end of the are N. It will be thus seen that the operation of the engine is perfectly regulated, the supply of steam to the cylinder being proportionate to the amount of load and consequent demand upon the engine.

I would have it understood that I do not desire to limit myself to the exact form'of construction and arrangement illustrated in the drawings and herein described as various modifications may be made in the 'details of construction Without departure from my inventicn.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination in a steam engine, of a rotary valve for controlling the admission of steam to and the exhaust of steam from the cylinder, a spindle extending from the end' of said rotary valve and provided at its outer end with an oblique slot, a Wheel loosely mounted on said spindle and carrying governor mech- IIO anism, and a pin secured to said governor mechanism and operatively engaged with said oblique slot in said spindle, substantially as described.

2. The combination in an engine, of a r0- tary valve for controlling the admission of steam to and the exhaust of steam from the cylinder, a spindle extending from one end of said rotary valve and provided at its outer end with a substantially V shaped slot, a wheel loosely mounted on said spindle and operatively connected with a moving portion of the engine, and provided with a tubular extension upon one end of its hub to which extension is secured suitable governor mechanism, a collar movably engaged with the outside of said extension and operatively engaged with the said governor mechanism so as to be adjusted longitudinally upon said extension by the movements of said governor mechanism, and a pin carried by said collar and adapted for engagement with theV shaped slot in the outer end of the spindle, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination in a steam engine, of a rotary valve, for governing the admission and exhaust of steam a spindle projecting axially from one end of said valve and provided yat its outer end with a substantially V shaped slot, a collar located around the outer end of said stem and provided with one or more inwardly projecting pins adapted for movable engagement with the oblique branches of said slot, said collar being operatively engaged with governor mechanism, a vibrating lever the county of Outagamie and State of Vis- 45 cousin, in the presence of two witnesses.

LUCIUS A. LE MIEUX. Witnesses:

S. W. BENEDIGT, CHAS. R. PRossER. 

